Summer 2022 LeBlanc Retreat

What a great week we had when the Walkers came a week ago Friday. They stopped to say hi before heading to the Hemmerts where they are staying part of the time. We met them the next day at Tillamook and had lunch at Denny’s. After a drive up the coast where they wanted to hike we headed to the rental house in Netarts Beach. Our two older sons, Daniel and Michael were already there and helped us to unpack. On the Walkers way back they picked up the Sushi that the boys ordered. Once sleeping arrangements were worked out, we ate and then the boys played games. It was a great place to stay, especially for children. They loved climbing into the Loft. On Sunday everyone but me went to the beach and met up with the Hemmerts, Sarah, David and Shelby to celebrate Father’s day. I enjoyed quiet time, napped and read some. When the Hemmerts, Sarah, David and Shelby left to return home, the others came back to the house and we ate a simple dinner. More game playing for the boys, while the younger ones kept us entertained. On Monday it was time to clean up, pack and head for home. What a wonderful time we had and the weather was fantastic. On Tuesday morning most of the family went to the Hemmerts to help fence their property. They worked all day and were exhausted. On Wednesday they finished the fence. We went bowling in the afternoon. I just cheer them on. Our older sons treated everyone, including lots of snacks. Then we went home and had a rest. On Thursday we were at home in the morning. In the afternoon I met everyone at the park in St. Helens. The children loved being able to play outdoors and on some great play equipment. The Walkers went to dinner at Sarah and Charles house with David and Shelby. Crystal came in the evening for a short visit. On Friday the Walkers came here and left their children with us so they could do some errands. In the evening we went up to the Hemmerts for dinner and said our goodbyes to the Walkers. I so appreciate everyone who made this gathering possible.

Family Tree Addition

David our youngest son and Shelby were married today. It was amazing to observe them as they made this commitment in front of family and friends. Watching online was wonderful and I really appreciate her sister for creating the live video feed. With restrictions on gathering there was a limited number who could attend in person. For the ceremony they were required to wear masks. Even with masks on their happiness shown right through! Thank you for this awesome event. We are thrilled for both of you.

Organizing Family Collections 2021

 I just had a 2016 post show up in my feed. It is just six months after our move and it lists my projects that need to be worked on. Here is what I have accomplished and what I have yet to do. This year I made more headway than in all the other four years before that combined. Something about staying home and having hours to work on these tasks. Looking forward to accomplishing the rest soon!

Projects Completed:

2'X2' stack of papers from multiple ancestral families sorted

resulted in four totes: our ancestors research, Tidd family research, Client research and Watts family research.

Fifteen boxes of children's school work and other items sorted

Ten totes of my mother's things sorted

Postcard collections sorted and put into notebooks

Forty albums of my mother's pictures condensed into ten albums and shared with siblings

Projects to complete:

Five boxes of children's school work and other items sorted

Five boxes of my mother's things to sort

Eight boxes of family keepsakes to sort

Five boxes of family pictures from 1992 to sort and put into albums

Ten picture albums to be redone from magnetic albums

Writing the annual family newsletter

We will see where I am by the end of 2021.

December 21 to 31. Ten Amazing Days

 We have been home a week. Ten days in Wyoming and going from 65' above sea level to over 6500' sea level and now back to 65' has done wonders for me. Not to mention the weather being near zero degrees most of the time we were there. It is pleasant to be back in Oregon. We loved seeing our daughter and her family after over two years apart. Every moment together was amazing. Our wonderful children gave us the gift of plane fare, then they had our carpets cleaned and celebrated at our house without us. Flying was amazing and the airline employees were wonderful. We did learn some new tricks with the Covid restrictions. People for the most part were courteous and helpful. Everyone wore their masks and kept their social distance. After weighing the risks of going and even wondering after we went if we should have gone, I feel we made the right choice. Now we are back to staying home. It is tough and we are very grateful for telephones and internet connections. Making it through day by day is certainly challenging.

2020 The Year of Staying Close to Home and Getting Organized

 As we prepare for the New Year it is great to reflect on what was accomplished this year. First of all a huge amount of sorting of cardboard boxes that I have been working on for a long time. These contained the school work and other items for our six children. I am down to five for our middle son. Oh, how I have loved reading the things that they wrote and looking at their creations. Each of them are so unique. When they were young I just did not have the time to enjoy each of them and the things that they did as much as I would have liked. They each one participated in Scouting or Camp Fire, after school activities, church activities, music, dance, Chess, sports, etc. Needless to say our lives were full and very busy. My goal was that they would explore many things in finding their paths in life. The other five boxes in the main part of the house are photographs from 1991 through the advent of putting them on the computer. Once I organize all of the photos I will select some for each of their albums and our family albums. The old cling pages albums will be replaced with 3 ring binders and acid free sheet protectors. That should take me through 2021, especially if we continue on in Covid precautions.

Christmas Cookie Exchange 2020

 Well, we had our Christmas Cookie exchange today. It was a lovely drive to our daughter's house in Portland. There were eleven of us, our two daughters Sarah and Anne, two granddaughters Hannah and Sophia, two sons Daniel and Michael, David and I, son in law Charles and his mother Janice, and our youngest son's fiance Shelby. We had a delicious light meal of wings and tater tots, fruit, vegetables, and some Martinellis' drinks. Then we sampled about ten different cookies. We brought a few home to enjoy later. It was fun to play Mad Libs and then Pictionary on the pad which showed the drawing on their flat screen TV. Our youngest granddaughter actually out did all of us. By the time we returned home I was exhausted. It was nice to see all of them and I loved seeing their Crazy Christmas Sweaters.

Scappoose Historical Society Spring Tea at the Watts' House

Took Anne and the girls to a tea luncheon at the Watts' house in Scappoose, OR. What a fun event. The girls, ages 6 and 9, were on their very best behavior as they had lunch with about 24 women from the area. Each group had their own table. They made only slight accommodations for the girls, like a few peanut butter and honey sandwiches. They did give us decaf teas to choose from and had punch as well. First came a dish of sorbet which they loved. Then came the three tier stand for the plates of food. Sandwiches, sweet breads and deserts. More than we could ever eat in one sitting so we brought a few home to Grandpa. Then each of the girls won a candle door prize. They wore their cutest dresses, sandals and just shined. Before leaving Hannah took them on a tour of the upstairs. Anne seemed to have a good time as well.

Just have to add to the picture and the post. This Tea is put on by the Scappoose Historical Society as an annual fund raiser. It is all volunteer labor, including the food prep, serving, set up, take down, and all else this involves. I am so impressed with the women and men who are members of this great Historical Society. There is much to be proud of in the little town of Scappoose. A great heritage is a priceless gift to all who share in the memories. Thank you so much for making the Tea possible.

Verla Jean Zollman LeBlanc Rametes

My mother-in-law, Verla Jean Zollman LeBlanc Rametes, passed away a year ago. For almost thirty six years she was a powerful influence in my life. She demonstrated what it means to be tough and determined. It takes a super woman to raise five sons, who grew to become honorable men. She was patient, understanding and considerate of all. Many of her grandchildren and great-grandchildren received a quilt at birth and other treasures throughout their lives. Having new babies in the family was a great occasion for Jean. Her life was filled with family, friends, church acquaintances, and fellow workers, etc. She had pluck and was not feint hearted when work was required of her. We loved watching her humming birds and the squirrels that came to visit. Her greatest wish was granted in that she lived out her life in her own home. Now she is off to her eternal home and no longer is bound by her earthly infirmities. We all look forward to receiving a warm hug from Jean when we see her again.

Selling a House is like Having a Baby

Have you ever been involved in selling a house? We are currently selling our house and earlier this year we sold our mother's home. While this is something that has gone for ages, it always leads to surprise repercussions in the process. You may not have given birth, but there is some common ground in getting pregnant and preparing for a birth. Even with the six births of my children it seems like every time we survived the counting down of  months, days and finally the hours. The anticipation is amazing, but at the final few hours I often wanted just to forget about the birthing process. That is how it feels selling houses, you get almost to the point of exasperation and want to just stop the whole process.

Celebrating Family

It has been a month since I last wrote a new post and finally the time has come to share in celebrating family and all that it means to me. But first, I must share that an article of mine has been published in the APGQ (Association of Professional Genealogists Quarterly) in the March 2015 issue. It took two years of waiting for just the right moment to send it to Christy Fillerup, who assumed the role of editor of the APGQ sometime last year. She was also in charge of SLIG (Salt Lake Institute of Genealogy) as director for several years. After returning home from SLIG in January and waiting to give her some time to get back on track, the article was sent and I waited to hear from her. 

Christmas Highlights from Facebook Posts 2013

I am compiling the facebook posts about Christmas I wrote this month and a few from last month. There are still three days to go. Those will be added after Christmas, so please check back on December 26. For me this is a way to remember the great things that occurred during this time. It may be more than you want to know about our family, but the comments and likes on facebook have been very positive. Several of my family and friends do not do facebook, but do read this blog. Please think about your own experiences and record them for future reference for your family.

An Open Your Presents Early Christmas

That is the statement that my six year old granddaughter made this week. In the past two plus weeks we have been blessed with some amazing gifts and memories. These are not all physical gifts and some are amazingly simple. In between the gifts directly for our family, there have been some gifts given to others in search of their ancestors.

Thanksgiving Thoughts

In glancing at my past post on Thanksgiving I found it was written a year ago today. We are two days away from the big family Thanksgiving gathering, but it has already started with my youngest daughter's family arrival yesterday. Unfortunately some of them had the flu before coming and our daughter has it now. We are all grateful that they are here and she can take some time to recover while we watch our grandsons. Hopefully none of the rest of us comes down with it. It seems to last 24 hours. On Saturday, four days away, we have scheduled a short train ride on the Holiday Express and the tickets are nonrefundable and nonexchangeable. Dinner can be postponed, but not this event.

Back to the Blog

It has been twenty-four days since my last post, or almost three weeks. Where did the time go? People are wondering why the lapse of posts and the one word explanation is, vacation. We left for Rock Springs, Wyoming on the 29th of July and returned home on August 12th. Two weeks of sleeping in motel rooms, eating motel breakfasts, roughly 913 miles each way, made us grateful to come home to our beds and routines.

The Birth of One Child - Religious Affiliations

How is it possible that the birth of one child has so profoundly impacted our world for over 2,000 years? Were it not part of recorded history by humble disciples years later, the spirit of Christmas would be unknown today. Earlier this year I developed a lecture on power point entitled, Religious Affiliations and Their Records. For genealogists the use of religious records in our research is profoundly important no matter where we are researching in the world. According to wikipedia there are 2.2 billion Christians within the world population of 7 billion. On this Sunday before Christmas 2012 I thought I would share some thoughts about this part of my family history.

At What Cost, Gaining an Education in Genealogy

Investment in Time, Understanding, Skills, Professionalism

Learning is a lifelong pursuit for genealogists. Each day a new type of computer application, database, discovery of unknown records contributes to the ongoing need of a willingness to learn.

When I was first developing an interest in genealogical research I was a junior in high school. My grandmother fed that interest by sharing the family artifacts in her possession.  Then she took me to the family cemeteries, so I could become the next generation keeper of the family history. She wrote letters to her distant relatives and took me to visit others who lived near by.  This first phase of my education in genealogy was richly rewarding as I began to compile the family data and stories that only these people had a recollection of. 

Melancholy Changes and Serendipity

This week so many events occurred and I am very behind in posting on this blog. First there was the FamilySearch Indexing Marathon from Sunday to Monday that consumed a great deal of energy. Tuesday I spent time with my daughter and two granddaughters. In between our visit I went and had a mammogram, the first time in ten years. They have vastly improved the testing procedure and I was very comfortable this time. Next time I won't wait so long. My next stop was to see a dear friend who is in the middle of chemotherapy treatments for breast cancer. It was in honor of her that I finally agreed to have the test. Our lives change so quickly and in spite of all we can do to direct our path, the path is mostly out of our control. What we can do is take preventative measures to make the most of the time that we have.

Father's Day Week 2012

For our family this has been a very interesting week leading up to Father's Day. For my husband this week probably seems surreal. On Monday he had surgery and spent the night in the hospital, which was a first for him since birth. No matter who is having surgery, or what type it is there is always a sense of apprehension about the outcome. I am very happy to say he was home early the next day and is having a very good recovery. He slept a good part of the day. We are grateful for very nice recliner chairs and a sleep number bed, which makes it very comfortable for him to rest. The refrigerator and cupboards are stocked with food, so he pretty much has everything he needs for the next week.

Family Vacations and Genealogy Experiences

This past week we took a week off from the normal routines of life to have a short vacation. Now that our children are no longer teenagers, my husband and I are able to get away with much less fuss, we just leave the kids at home. With a little envy, I have enjoyed reading the posts of Randy Seaver about his Legacy cruise with his wife. I am not sure a cruise is my cup of tea, but we might have to try one just to see. For me the best vacation includes a little genealogy research, even though my husband is not really interested he tolerates my interest in this. While at his mother's home this week I shared some of my current projects with her. Over the years I have enjoyed many family vacations, both as a child and later as a parent. We need these times to recharge our systems and they can also incorporate some history, both personal and cultural. Here are some of my favorites.

Great Events and Unexpected Challenges

Being a genealogist brings amazing experiences to one's life. This past week there were some wonderful events that help me to appreciate our family and friends. We share our lives with many people, not unlike our ancestors in every generation. Coming to know their stories can help us to face the events of our lives, good and bad.